Every company is different, of course, and has its own philosophy of organising workflows. The basic links and steps of a process chain, however, can be compared. The design, programming, simulation, production planning and production stages must be seamlessly connected, and communication and data transfer have to be possible in all directions for digital order handling.

At Metav 2016, Heidenhain showed how easy it is for all participants in the process to communicate and exchange data with the TNC 640. Even the standard features of the TNC 640 provide access to the manufacturing process data right at the control through a CAD viewer, a PDF viewer, an image viewer, and a web browser. Viewing with the browser requires no separate programme installation. The operation of web-based documentation software or ERP systems is possible, as is access to your e-mail inbox.

Option 133 Remote Desktop Manager provides an expanded solution for integrating the TNC 640 into the process chain. The push of a button on the control keyboard is all it takes to switch between the control screen and the screen of a Windows PC. It can be a computer in the local network or an industrial PC (IPC), such as the Heidenhain IPC 6641, in the machine’s electrical cabinet. This gives the machine operator direct access from the control to all data processing systems in the process chain. All the usual applications, e.g. for managing, documenting, and visualisation, can be simply operated and used right on the TNC 640. Even CPU-intensive CAD/CAM tasks do not affect CNC machining and machine performance.

To ensure that the TNC 640 is capable of fulfilling these important functions within digital order handling in any company, it adapts itself to the existing process chain. Moreover, with its future-oriented software platform, it is open to modification and further development.